Let off for looms



I June 6, 1933. GARGOUNSH 1,912,520

LET-OFF FOR LOOMS Filed Sept. 28, 1929 35 3 .[N VENTDR A/v THUN r0 154E501. //v5/r/ VMWTM Patented June 6, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANTHONY D. GARGOLIITSKI, F WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 CROMP'ION & KNOWLES LOOM WORKS, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS LET-OFF FOR LOOMS' Application filed September 28, 1929.

This invention relates to improvements in let-ofi's for looms and it is the general object of the invention to provide a quickly adjustable connection between a weighted lever and a flexible friction element, such as a rope.

On certain classes of looms the warp beam is provided with a drum head between the flanges of which are located one or more coils or turns of a rope. One end of the rope is fastened to the loom at some fixed point and the other end has engagement with a lever pivoted to the loom frame and preferably having notches to receive in adjusted position weights which tension the rope. It is an important object of my present invention to provide a weighted lever formed with inclined surfaces against which the rope is clamped by a wedge, the degree of clamp increasing with the strain placed on the rope.

It is a further object of my present inven tion to provide a left-off having a weighted lever with a slot having opposite inclined sides between which lies a wedge, the rope passing through the slot and lying between the inclined edges and the wedge and being frictionally held by the latter against the inclined edges.

It is a still further object of my invention to provide a wedge having a projecting end which may be struck by a hammer orsimilar tool to be dislodged from rope clamping position, means being provided to retain the wedge when loose so that although it may be in rope slackening position it will nevertheless be held against accidental loss from the weighted lever.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my

. invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth in the claims.

' In the accompanying drawing, wherein a convenient embodiment of my invention is set forth,

Fig. 1 is a rear elevation of a portion of a loom and warp beam with my invention applied thereto,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation taken in the direc-' r tion of arrow 2, Fig. 1, I Fig. 3 is an enlarged rear elevation of one Serial No. 395,941.

of the levers, certain parts being broken away to illustrate the wedge member in elevation,

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on line 41 of Fig. 3, and

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the wedge member.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, I have shown a loom frame 10 on which is supported the warp beam 11 by means of a shaft 12. Near each end of the warp beam is a friction drum 13 having flanges 14: between which is located one or more coils of a rope 15. lhe latter as shown in Fig. 2 has the forward end thereof secured as at 16 to a fixed stand 17 mounted on the loom frame 10.

The weighted lever 18 is supported by means of a stud 19 secured to a stand 20 bolted or otherwise secured to the loom frame L. The upper surface of the lever is provided with notches 21 which receive the hooked end of a weighted element 22.

The matter thus far described, with the exception of the particular form of the lever 18 to be described more in detail hereinafter, is substantially the same as that in common use. clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2 to pay The warp beam rotates in a counterofi warp during the weaving operation, this movement being resisted by the friction rope 15. Heretofore, the rope has been wrapped around a portion of the lever 18, thereby requiring a length of rope greater than that shown herein.

In carrying my present invention into effeet I provided improved means for attaching the rope to the lever in such a way that adjustments may be quickly made and at the same time use much less rope than has been customary with previous constructions. Accordingly, I provide each lever 18 with a pocket having side walls 31 and 32 which as viewed in Fig. 3 define, respectively, the.

right and left limits of the pocket 30. These walls converge upwardly and may be concave, if desired, to conform to the shape of the rope 15.

A wedging member 33 shown particularly in Fig. 5 has inclined walls 3 1 and 35 to lie adjacent walls 31 and 32, respectively, said sides of the wedge also converging upwardly. As set forth in Figs. 3 and 5 the edges 34 and 35, together with the bottom 36 of the wedge member, may be grooved slightly to receive the rope 15, the groove and concave sides 31 and 32 offering a substantial frictional surface contact for the rope.

A pin 37 extends through the opposite sides of each lever across the pocket 30 thereof and passes through a vertical slot 38 formed in the corresponding wedge member.

\Vhen assembling the device, the wedge member will be supported in lowest position by the pin 37 and the free end of the rope 15 will preferably be passed down the wall 31, around the bottom of wedge member, and up along the wall 32, the end thereof extending several inches above the lever. The wedge member is then driven upwardly until it has tight frictional contact with the rope and clamps the latter against the inclined walls of the lever. Any pressure exerted by the rope in an upward direction will tend to lift the wedge farther into the pocket, thereby tightening the frictional contact between said rope and the lever 18.

If the rope should stretch or for any other reason it becomes necessary to vary the relation of the rope and lever, the upper end 39 of the wedge may be struck a blow to move it downwardly a suificient distance to release the rope, whereupon the end 40 of said rope may either be pulled upwardly, or if the opposite adjustment is required, slipped downwardly, between the wedge and the wall 32. A subsequent return of the wedge to its normal position will clamp the rope in its new position. It is to be understood that the weights 22 maintain a continuous strain on the rope during normal running, and this strain holds the rope frictionally in place against the inclined walls of the lever and wedge. In other words it is a strain transmitted from the weights through the rope which holds the lever and wedge in normal position.

I find that by using the construction set forth herein less rope is necessary than that formerly required because of the fact that the free end of the rope does not have to be wra ped around the lever 18 several times. In t iis way I effect considerable economy in the use of the rope 15 as well as provide a finer degree of adjustment than could be attained heretofore wherein it has been necessary to give the rope a complete wrap around the lever in order to take-up any slack.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided'a very simple means for holding the end of the rope 15 with respect to the weighted lever 18, said means including a wedge member which is so disposed that the normal strain on the rope 15 tends constantly to draw the wedge more tightly into the pocket. It will be seen more broadly that my invention comprises a pair of cooperating wedge members between which is located the rope, the normal strain of the latter tending to move the wedge members into tighter relation with respect to each other. As a more detailed feature of my invention it will be seen that the pin 37 acts to prevent loss of the wedge while the slot 38 permits sufficient movement to allow the wedge to be moved to a position where the rope will be slackened.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wish to be lim ited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a let-off motion for a loom having a friction drum and a flexible friction element wrapped around the drum and having one end fixed, a weighted lever, said lever having inclined walls which converge toward the warp beam, and a wedge member located between said Walls, the rope extending around the wedge member and being clamped by the latter against the walls, the strain in the flexible member due to the act-ion of the weighted lever tending to draw the wedge member toward the warp beam and tighten the frictional contact between the flexible element and the lever.

2. In a let-off motion for a loom having a friction drum and a flexible friction element wrapped around the drum and having one end fixed, a weighted lever, said lever having a pocket with inclined upwardly converging opposite surfaces, and a wedge located in the pocket and having inclined upwardly converging surfaces, the rope passing between the wedge and the inclined surfaces of the pocket.

3. In a let-off motion for a loom having a friction drum and a flexible friction element extended therearound, a pair of cooperating members one of which is pivoted, and adj acent inclined surfaces on the members along which the flexible element extends, the inclined surfaces of one member forcing the flexible element against the inclined surfaces of the other member, the wedge member being held in clamping relation with respect to the flexible member by the tension exerted by the weighted lever on said member.

4. In a let-off for a loom having a friction drum and a flexible element extended. therearound in frictional contact therewith, a pair of cooperating members each to have engagement with the flexible element, one of said members supporting the other and being movable relatively to the drum, said one supporting member having opposite relatively inclined surfaces, and the other member having similar relatively inclined surfaces, the flexible element extending between the relatively inclined surfaces of the one supporting member and said other member to be clamped by the latter against the former.

5. In a let-ofl' motion for a loom having a. friction drum and a flexible friction element wrapped around the drum and having one end fixed a weighted lever, a pair of surfaces on the lever which are nearer together at their ends adjacent the beam than at the ends remote from the beam, and a wedge member located between said surfaces, the flexible element extending between the wedge member and the surfaces and around the wedge member and being forced against the latter by the wedge member, the wedge member being held in clamping relation with respect to the flexible member by the tension exerted by the weighted lever on said member.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

ANTHONY D. GARGOLINSKI. 

